Hansen beat more than 100,000 images submitted by 5,500 photographers from 124 countries to take the title and the top prize of €10,000 and Canon DSLR kit.

The winning image depicts a group of men carrying the bodies of two dead children through a street in Gaza City, for a burial ceremony at a nearby mosque. Their father’s body is carried behind on a stretcher.

Hansen, who works at Swedish daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter, captured the image on 20 November 2012.

The winners of each category won €1,500 and the best image from this year’s contest will go on show in a touring exhibition that kicks off in Amsterdam on 26 April.

The judging, which took place in Amsterdam over the past two weeks, was led by Santiago Lyon, vice-president and director of photography at The Associated Press.